Let me confess, I am not one of those sociologists who loves statistics or find percentages particularly helpful. I am far more interested in the conversations they have the potential to tell. Numbers alone are not narrative – words are necessary in order to give them meaning. They provide a starting point for much bigger conversations. For example, what do the numbers say about our day to day lived experiences in the Spokane/Spokane Valley area? Let’s look at some numbers and some local/regional positive recognition you might have missed.
Spokane and the area have a “big small town” feel. For a city of over 200,000 and a county population of over half-a-million, all covering over 1,700 square miles, it’s surprisingly easy to get to know a lot of people and their interconnectedness. Our Black population here has always been a small fraction of the overall population yet it’s challenging to get to a significant percent of us. Although there appears to be more of us here now than when my family and I moved here from Pullman in 1989, we remain scattered and scarce.
According to the U.S. Census we have historically been a small percentage of the whole in the city and county. For example, in 1890 the city of Spokane boasted a population of 19,367. There were only 1,601 Black folks or 0.9% of the population. While the white population in the city climbed exponentially between 1890 and 1940 our numbers declined to an all-time low of 0.5%. What happened?
According to the 2020 census Spokane city reports a population of well over 200,000 and the Black population at approximately 5,100 or 2.58%. The Spokane Valley reports a population of nearly 103,00 and a Black population of approximately 1,500 or 1.39%. No matter how you cut it, if you are a Black/African American person living in Spokane or the surrounding area you feel and experience this place being overwhelmingly white. However, in spite-of our low numbers there is some surprising news!
In January, Vinny Saglimbeni, a KREM 2 reporter, cited a new study by Baldwin Digital on Spokane/Spokane Valley and the number of Black-owned businesses in the area. The numbers in their study indicate that we are doing better than the vast majority of cities in the entire Nation in that category!
According to them, Spokane/Spokane Valley ranks third in the United States in Black-owned businesses for every 1,000 Black/African American persons in it. They report 12.46% Black-owned businesses for every 1,000 of us here. According to their findings there are 234 black-owned business license holders in our two cities.
Their study lists Bellingham, Washington, No. 2 nation. You might never guess who is number one – Corvallis, Oregon! Corvallis leads the country with 42.68% Black-owned businesses for every 1,000 Black people. There are 1,743 Black residents in Corvallis and 74 Black-owned businesses in the area. Baldwin Digital took this data from the 2021 U.S. Census on businesses (my guess is, that number includes anyone who holds a business license) owned by Black/African Americans and compared it to the Black population in each area.
After 40 years of living in the “upper left” which remains the whitest geographical region in the United States I am proud of our recent ranking and recognition. At the same time, I am deeply curious to know more about who our local Black entrepreneurs are. I would like for someone to add voice to those reported numbers by highlighting their individual stories and to make finding them easier rather than hard.
It sounds like we need to do a better job getting the word out about our Black entrepreneurs and not just for the good of the Black community but for the good of the entire region! Spokane/Spokane Valley are likely to continue to have the feel of a “big small town” and our Black numbers are likely to stay a small percent of it. However, a surprising number of us are all about business! Congratulations! This is my view from the water’s edge.
Dr. Bartlett is a retired educator. He retired from Gonzaga University in 2007 and Eastern Washington University in 2020.